A Teammate's Confession
by Saint Miroku
Summary: War is on the horizon, Tenten and Neji are sent to complete a simple mission. With all this tension and uncertainty, the two begin to think about [Censored]. This [Censored]. A Neji X Tenten [Censored] shot. I'd like [Censored].


**Important Note: This story has been edited down to only the parts that I am allowed to upload on this site (hence the terrible, choppy ending) if you wish to read a full, uncensored version, I have mirrors on Archive Of Our Own, Deviantart, and He**aifoundry all under the same name as this story here, I am extremely sorry for the inconvenience.**

* * *

As Tenten walked along the busy street, she could feel the tension in the air. No one wanted to admit it, but the ninja world was at war. For her part, Tenten didn't really know what to think of all this, she knew that all this started after the Akatsuki terrorists who had attacked the village not too long ago were threatening the safety of the entire world, but other than that she was in the dark. While the prospect of another Shinobi World War frightened her, she was even more terrified of the unknowns of this conflict, namely, just what they were going to be fighting against. The Akatsuki were a small organization, they must have had something terrible in their arsenal for them to be so bold as to start such a large conflict.

Entering the Hokage's office, she cleared her head of all those thoughts, and focused on what was ahead. She saw that Neji was waiting in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Now that you're both here, we can begin." Tsunade said as Tenten moved to stand beside Neji.

"What's going on, has their been some incident with the Akatsuki?" Tenten asked.

"No, we haven't heard anything about their movements yet, I just need you two to go out on a simple supply run." Tsunade responded.

"Is this another mission to retrieve weapons from that crazy black smith?" Neji asked, a slight look of annoyance crossing his face as he mentioned that old crone.

Tsunade chuckled softly before continuing, "No no, it's nothing like that. We have supply stations set up all across the forest surrounding the village. Normally, we leave them out there in case ninja teams get stranded during a mission, but with the war approaching, we're going to need all the supplies we can get."

"So you want us to go to one of these stations so I can bring this stuff home using the enveloping technique?" Tenten interjected.

"Exactly, but don't go thinking that this is just busy, news of the war has spread quickly since the summit, and there are reports that the bandits in the area are increasing their raids in response to all the supply caravans coming in while we mobilize. You two should be ready for anything."

"Understood, Lady Hokage." Neji said as he bowed.

"Excellent, oh and one last thing, when you leave through the gate, there should be someone there to give you a map and a key to the station, just follow the red line and you'll be at the supply station in no time."

The two left the room and headed for the front gate. Just as Lady Tsunade had said, there was a man at the gate who handed them a map. They exited through the front gate, and set about their long trek trough the forest.

The two of them traveled in silence for a time, before Tenten finally spoke, "So what do you think of this war? Honestly, I'm pretty scared, I've heard about stuff like this before, but I never thought I'd actually be living through it."

"I understand that, I wouldn't be too worried except..." Neji trailed off in mid sentence as a concerned look crossed his face.

"What is it? Come on Neji, you know you can always talk to me about stuff like this."

There was a short pause before Neji responded, "I don't fear death, being in my branch of the Hyuga clan, it was always right around the corner. But right now, there's something really important I have to do, and I'm afraid that if I don't come back from this and it stays undone, there's someone who'll really miss out because of it."

Tenten thought about his words. Honestly, she felt much the same way, but it was about a more personal subject. Though she did a very good job of hiding it, she had long been harboring feelings for Neji. He may have started out as a cold, mysterious boy, but over the course of her travels with him as part of Team Guy, she'd come to see that he was much kinder and more charming then the persona he often put on. She'd often thought about confessing her feelings to him in the past, but she always decided against it. But with this war, she may not get another chance, she'd have to tell him how she felt soon.

Suddenly, she was interrupted mid thought by a sudden crashing sound. The path filled with smoke, and she immediately knew what was happening, the bandits had found them. In mere seconds, she heard the screaming battle cry of at least a dozen men charging towards them. She wasted no time in deploying a scroll and summoning an elegantly curved sword from her vast arsenal. As she rose to her feet, the smoke bomb's effects began to clear, and she saw that Neji was already busy fending off several attackers, Kunai firmly in hand. Immediately, she came under attack from several other bandits. She had an easy enough time defending against their clumsy weapon strikes before retaliating with her own expert swordsmanship, until she came face to face with an especially large bandit carrying a massive blade. The raider was had such immense strength, that it was all she could do just to block his attacks. He eventually backed her into a tree, where the two were forced to lock blades, Tenten having to use all of her strength just to keep him at bay. Thankfully, Neji had beaten back his attackers by this time, so he quickly rushed over to Tenten's position, striking the massive warrior from the back. He tried to defend against both attackers, but he wasn't nearly agile enough to defend against attacks from two separate directions. Eventually, Tenten managed to catch the giant off guard, and sever the hand that held on to the large blade. He howled in pain, grasping on to the bloody stump of his forearm before fleeing back into the treeline along with the rest of his men.

"I sure hope we don't run into anymore resistance like that." Tenten said, trying to catch her breath.

Neji grinned darkly to himself, "With how loudly that beast screamed, I don't think anything is going to come by here for a while."

After the two caught their breath and Tenten returned her sword to it's seal, they continued along the path. Thankfully, they weren't too far from the supply station, so the trip was fairly quick. When they got there, they found that the station wasn't quite as small as they had thought, looking more like a house than some run down house. They opened the looked door and found that the entire inside of the structure was filled with crates going up to the ceiling.

"Well, it looks like we've got our work cut out for us." Tenten said, her voice echoing across the large structure.

Neji moved towards the nearest stack of crates and said, "I think this might be easier if we get some of these boxes down. Can you give me a boost?" He looked to Tenten who nodded in agreement before helping to lift him up. "I can't quite seem to reach thi-" He was immediately cutoff as he lost his balance and went crashing down to the floor below.

This of course, led to Tenten falling as well, and she closed her eyes on instinct, expecting something to crash down on her. But she felt nothing. As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that Neji was hovering just inches away from her face, having barely managed to catch himself in time. She saw his tender lips hovering tantalizingly close to her own, all it would take is one quick move forward, and their lips would meet.

Before she could even think of doing anything however, Neji got up and said, "Sorry about that." in a highly nervous and embarrassed tone, a neon bright blush forming across his face.

"No it's fine, don't worry about it." Tenten replied, snapping herself back to reality.

The two eventually got back to the work of clearing the warehouse, and this time, Neji didn't try to climb up onto anything. By the time that they were finally finished sealing away all the supplies, the sun was starting to set, and the two young Shinobi were eager to return home. Much to Tenten's relief, Neji's earlier prediction proved true, and they encountered no resistance on the way back. It was dark when they returned to the village, and they simply handed the scrolls containing the supplies to the same ninja who handed them the map earlier.

"Well, I guess that's another successful mission. That guy at the gate said he'd take care of the rest, so I guess we should just head home." Tenten said.

"Alright, I'll walk you home then." Neji replied in his usual calm manner.

"Oh it's no problem, you don't ha-" Tenten cut herself off, realizing just how great of an opportunity this was. "Actually, I think I'd like that a lot." She continued.

Neji shook his head in agreement, and the two headed for Tenten's apartment. They walked side by side, the moonlight illuminating the terrain. Tenten briefly considered trying to hold Neji's hand, but she ultimately decided against it. This was probably going to be a once in a life time opportunity, and she didn't want to botch it by doing something so sudden and without warning.

Once the two reached Tenten's front door, Neji broke the silence, "Well goodnight then, I guess I'll be returning home then."

As he moved to leave, Tenten grabbed his hand and said, "Wait, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Tenten's heart began to beat extremely fast and she became very nervous. For some reason, this seemed to be a lot more daunting than any of the other times she had considered making a move.

She paused briefly before working up the courage to continue, "Well, you remember how you said that there's something you want to do? Well I have to say it... I... Neji, I love you! I know you probably don't feel the same way, but I-" Tenten was interrupted once again as she felt her lips collide with Neji's. She was startled for a moment before she fully comprehended what was happening, and let her self sink into the kiss.

When they broke, Neji responded, "I've always loved you too Tenten. It's just that, up until now, I never thought that anyone would ever want anything to do with someone from a lowly minor branch of the Hyuga clan."

"I don't care who your family is, I love you for you and that's that." Tenten replied, a warm smile crossing her face.

"Tenten..." Neji said as the two began looking deep into each others eyes. The two began to move closer, ready to lock lips once more, until they heard a crash from the street behind them.

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing this out in the open." Tenten said, motioning towards her apartment door.

"Yes, that seems wise." Neji responded, blushing a bit as he realized just how differently he'd been acting than normal.

Tenten quickly opened the door and the two went inside...

"So I guess that really was quite a mission after all." Tenten said after breaking for air, laughing softly.

"I have to agree."

"It's pretty scary right now, but with you here beside me, I feel safer than ever."

Neji smiled softly, "Don't worry, I intend to stay beside you like this forever."

The two laughed, still wrapped in a warm embrace, before they fell asleep in each others arms. Tenten had no idea what the future could hold in this time of war, but she knew that what ever it may be, Neji would always be there to face it beside her. And with that thought, she drifted off into a peaceful dream.


End file.
